Changes

Other factors also caused industrialization.  As farming techniques improved, each farm could obtain better yield or output from their land, and there was less of a need for so many farmers.  A few farmers benefited from “economies of scale,” which is when something can be doing more efficiently on a larger scale, like when a large store like Wal-Mart provides cheaper goods than a small store can.  In the early 1700s, there was an “enclosure movement” whereby wealthy farmers bought land from small farmers, then benefited from economies of scale in farming huge tracts of land.  The enclosure movement led to improved crop production, such as the rotation of crops.  People began moving to cities, where they could more easily work in factories than on farmland.  In England, population growth caused former farmers or children of farmers to migrate from southeastern England to the northwest, where factories were being built.

Other factors also caused industrialization.  As farming techniques improved, each farm could obtain better yield or output from their land, and there was less of a need for so many farmers.  A few farmers benefited from “economies of scale,” which is when something can be doing more efficiently on a larger scale, like when a large store like Wal-Mart provides cheaper goods than a small store can.  In the early 1700s, there was an “enclosure movement” whereby wealthy farmers bought land from small farmers, then benefited from economies of scale in farming huge tracts of land.  The enclosure movement led to improved crop production, such as the rotation of crops.  People began moving to cities, where they could more easily work in factories than on farmland.  In England, population growth caused former farmers or children of farmers to migrate from southeastern England to the northwest, where factories were being built.

 

England, the land of free enterprise and Adam Smith, had the perfect economic climate for the industrial revolution.  England had all of the necessary “factors of production” (a term for the resources of an economy: land, labor, capital and entrepreneurship) to become an industrialized economy.  There was plenty of money or capital to invest in new factories.  There were many entrepreneurs hoping to profit from new businesses.  There was sufficient land and natural resources, with the colonies of England providing raw materials as needed.  And there was also adequate labor for the factories:  the former small farmers.  Most of all, there was a world of customers around the world wanting to buy the manufactured goods, and England’s merchant navy traded with the entire world.

England, the land of free enterprise and Adam Smith, had the perfect economic climate for the industrial revolution.  England had all of the necessary “factors of production” (a term for the resources of an economy: land, labor, capital and entrepreneurship) to become an industrialized economy.  There was plenty of money or capital to invest in new factories.  There were many entrepreneurs hoping to profit from new businesses.  There was sufficient land and natural resources, with the colonies of England providing raw materials as needed.  And there was also adequate labor for the factories:  the former small farmers.  Most of all, there was a world of customers around the world wanting to buy the manufactured goods, and England’s merchant navy traded with the entire world.

If you are a businessman or investor, then you love the industrial revolution because it enables you to make money without being a farmer, and gives you access to all sorts of goods and products that might not otherwise be available, such as computers.  But some people, like Thomas Jefferson, felt that a farming lifestyle was important to the family unit and overall peace and well-being in society.  The industrial revolution did damage families and created a stressful lifestyle that exists today, such as many hours spent commuting to and from jobs each week.

If you are a businessman or investor, then you love the industrial revolution because it enables you to make money without being a farmer, and gives you access to all sorts of goods and products that might not otherwise be available, such as computers.  But some people, like Thomas Jefferson, felt that a farming lifestyle was important to the family unit and overall peace and well-being in society.  The industrial revolution did damage families and created a stressful lifestyle that exists today, such as many hours spent commuting to and from jobs each week.

===The Effects of the Industrial Revolution===

===The Effects of the Industrial Revolution===